Alex Billy was the winner of the first annual Distinction in Agriculture Award at the Canora Agricultural Society’s 13th annual Farmers Night out on April 21 at the Sylvia Fedoruk Centre.
Dean Wilgosh, Ag Society president, said the award recognizes individuals, groups and businesses who have contributed significantly to agriculture in Canora and the surrounding area.
In 1963, Alex and his father Metro created a business partnership, and M & A Billy Equipment was born. His father retired approximately 10 years later, and Billy continued running the operation until 2018. His family had been encouraging him to retire for a few years, but Billy waited until just the right candidate came along to sell the business and make his retirement official.
In over half a century of serving Canora farmers, Billy built a reputation for going the extra mile to serve area farmers, said Wilgosh.
Farm equipment parts that couldn’t be found anywhere else, could almost always be found at M & A Billy Equipment.
During busy seasons such as seeding and harvest, he made sure he was available for emergency calls when farmers were working beyond regular business hours.
Billy’s son David spoke on behalf of his father to those in attendance, and expressed his gratitude for being chosen to receive the award.
“In business you need a lot of things to be successful, and probably the most important is good relationships. Dad has always felt that he had the best people to deal with: farmers.”
David said one of the most vivid examples of the importance of good relationships came after the original M & A Billy building was destroyed by fire in 1974.
“Dad said all the accounting records were lost in the fire, including the records of money owed by farmers. But the farmers who owed money came to the house to see him and paid their bills.”
In recent years, as he was having more trouble getting around, it became clear how much he meant to people in Canora and the surrounding area, said David.
If he had trouble getting parts down from shelves, people would be available to help. During the winter months, if snow needed to be cleared, someone from one of the neighbouring businesses would usually show up to take care of it.
Wilgosh said the Ag Society could not have hoped for a more deserving recipient for the first annual Distinction in Agriculture Award than Billy, after his 55 years of service to the Canora area farming community.
